Jury

• Meet the volunteers running DEMA2018 •

Dorset Ethnic Minority Association is a pioneering charitable organisation in the honouring, celebration and showcasing positive contributions to the Dorset Community by the Ethnic Minorities within Dorset.

MEET THE JUROR TEAM

Sarah Ali choudhury– Lead Juror

Sarah Ali Choudhury is an award-winning Indian food Restaurateur, TV chef and owner of a Gourmet Indian Event Catering Business. Sarah at 20years was named the youngest Asian women to run a restaurant and has shared her Indian cuisine internationally on TV, radio or print media, live cooking demonstrations, social media and bespoke teaching.

Sarah is the recipient of multiple awards including winner of The Venus Influential Woman of the Year (sponsored by Mercedes-Benz), and finalist for The Venus Inspirational Woman of the Year (sponsored by Bournemouth University). Sarah was one of eight selected finalists out of 8,000 contestants in Tommy Miah’s International Indian Chef of the Year competition.

Sarah has appeared in the British Bangladeshi Who’s Who guide for 2017, and was given a standing ovation by the Bangladesh Catering Association for her contribution to The Asian catering industry. Sarah received the BBPI 100 accolade for her contribution to the food industry (British Bangladeshi Powerlist 2018)

Sarah is an Ambassador for the UK Nepal Friendship Society and Child Nepal, and has worked to provide meals for the homeless in her local area through Let’s Feed Bournemouth. A keen advocate of women’s rights, she is also a supporter of the Janaki Women’s Awareness Society. Sarah is the Ambassador for ARON (The Asian Restaurant Owners Network).

Elisa Ponce– DEMA Juror

Mexican born Elisa is an Attorney in Law graduate who qualified in 1998 at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Elisa practiced Law whist in Mexico for private corporations and and the Mexican government.

She moved to Dorset, England (2005) in a bid to learn all about theEnglish Language and its culture . It was during her stay in Bournemouth that Elisa met her partner and together they were blessed with a daughter now aged seven.

Elisa is the Founder and CEO of MILPA – A social food project in Bournemouth which showcases and embraces the authentic flavours of Mexican food. She is also a passionate blogger on subjects of traditional Mexican food and is an active member of a number of community projects. Elisa also founded Mexican@s in Bournemouth Community group.

Nathalie Sherring– DEMA Juror

Nathalie Sherring is the Chief Executive Officer for Dorset Race Equality Council (DREC). Originally from France and moved to Bournemouth 20 years ago.

Nathalie’s career background is in education as a Teacher. Since moving to England, she specialised in working with disadvantaged communities and helping people to reach their full potential and access to equal opportunities.

Nathalie has been with DREC for 3 years and enjoy working with diverse communities and learning about various cultures around Dorset.

To be invited as Juror for the Dorset Ethnic Minority Awards is an honour and an opportunity to celebrate the distinctive ethnic leaders and entrepreneurs in Dorset.

SOCIAL INCLUSION

An ideal Dorset would be one where all (indigenous and ethnic minority groups) people within our society feel valued and important.

Prince Ogbuji is Nigerian born and moved to England 16 years ago and now a devoted husband and father of 3 children. In 2018, Prince is a winner of the Bournemouth and Poole’s Rising Awards.

Prince has a diverse education and professional background. He holds B.Sc in Government and Public administration from Abia State University Nigeria , M.Sc in Business IT from University of Lagos Nigeria, and PGD Terrorism and Political Violence St. Andrews University Scotland.

Prince has worked at different positions in The IT industry including QC officer at EIMS Bournemouth working directly with EIMS/IBM patent software tests, Senior Test analyst Parkeon Poole.

Tomasz Dyl– DEMA Juror

Tomasz Dyl is the Founder and Managing Director of GottaBe!, an independent, award winning marketing agency specialising in ethnic, field and experiential marketing.

A Polish born entrepreneur who started his business whilst only being 17 years old.The agency’ portfolio of Clients include some of the World’ largest brands such as Western Union, NHS, The Co-operative, Domino’s Pizza, Dorset Tea, Lebara Mobile to name a few.

Back in 2013, Tomasz was named Southampton’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year whilst his other business – Magazyn PL, a news portal dedicated to the Polish Community in Dorset, Hampshire and West Sussex won Student & Graduate Start-up of the Year. Tomasz is also an Associate Lecturer in Marketing at Southampton Solent University.

Erika Bryant– DEMA Juror

Erika Arianna Bryant Originally from Brazil,Erika has been working in the Health Sector in the UK for the past 23 years. Currently a Care Manager for a non-profitable large organisation in Dorset.

Erika is a loving and devoted mother and she deeply cares about other people. She is an advocate of equality and justice. This characteristic brings out her love in supporting people from various backgrounds and she is well known in various communities and her involvement with local and national charities.

Erika is an energetic, creative and spontaneous person.Her involvement with DEMA 2018 helped to connect the organisation with the Latin Community and her professional skills.

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

By pushing for equality, broadening of the acceptance of diversity, and grant of opportunities for success, DEMA aims to galvanise a Dorset community not biased on ethnicity, nationality and social class but on merit based on everyone’s contribution to the positive reputation, financial stability and economic growth of Dorset.

Nicole Ferdinand– DEMA Juror

Dr Nicole Ferdinand hold a PHD in Culture,Media and the Creative Industries. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Management at Bournemouth University. She teach, consult and publish within the areas of festival and event management, international marketing and business strategy.

Currently, she leads the Carnival University, funded by Bournemouth University’s Centre for Excellence in Learning, as part of my BU Learning and Teaching award for 2017/18. Dr Nicole is regular keynote speaker and presenter for public and private sector organisations, which have included: Meeting Professionals International (Finland Chapter), Meeting and Events Australia and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Dr Nicole is a great asset to the DEMA 2018 Juror who understand culturalism.

Jaeyeon Choe– DEMA Juror

Dr. Jaeyeon Choe holds her Ph.D. in Tourism Management (Minor: Cultural Anthropology) from The Pennsylvania State University, USA in 2012. For her Ph.D., she explored meditation (mindfulness) as leisure and a stress and depression coping and emotion management strategy in the United States.

She studied leisure and tourism management at California State University, Long Beach for her Master’s and studied business administration with an emphasis on marketing at Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul Korea (BA). After teaching in the US, China and Macau, she joined Bournemouth University as a senior lecturer in 2015 and teaches social psychology of leisure, amongst other courses. She supervises PhD students in the fields of leisure and tourism, focusing on spiritual well-being and religious tourism.

Eva Muhumuza– DEMA Juror

Dr Eva Muhumuza is a trained Medial Doctor and work as an Anaesthetist at Poole NHS Foundation Trust. She is a devoted wife and mother.

Dr Eva is on the leaders at African Caribbean Fellowship (AFC) Bournemouth and share her singing passion with a band called Fireside.

She is engaged in empowering women and committee member of Princess Connect Bournemouth and advocate promoting Gender Equality in the society.

Her involvement with DEMA 2018 as Juror bring wealth experience to the panel and promoting ethnic minority groups in Dorset which is her home.

PLANNING AND LOGISTICS

The Dorset Ethnic Minority Awards have consumed over 1437 hours of Planning

Showcasing

Excellence

Every year, Awards will be presented to winners at a 5-star pinnacle Awards Ceremony and Dinner Gala. These awards aim to recognise and showcase those businesses, groups and individuals who have demonstrated a real passion and achieved success in the Dorset community.

Winners will be selected by a group of peers selected from pillars in the community and presented to the community at this exquisite event.